How to Survive Exam Season

It’s nearly that awful time of year again!

Exam season is approaching way too quickly for my liking and, to be perfectly honest, I am freaking out.

But, I always find that exam season is never as bad as I make it out to be in my head, as long as I just get my head down and get on with it. So, for the sake of my sanity and yours throughout the most stressful time of the university/school year, here are my top five tips on surviving this exam season…

1. Plan, plan, plan.

My first piece of advice would be to make a revision schedule in advance, and then stick to it. This one sounds easy, but I actually find it quite hard as I’m SO easily distracted. It works, though, and is 100% worth it.

I tend to plan around a week in advance, so that if there’s a particular topic that I’m struggling on I can make sure I spend some extra time on it during the following week.

2. Take a break.

Always make sure that you give yourself a few breaks during a day of revision. I tend to find that an hour and a half working, then a fifteen minute break to make a cup of tea or read a few blog posts (or sometimes just to lay down and blast my music to clear my head) works best for me, and I’m always much more motivated to get things done if I have a finite finishing time.

I also find that if I sit and try to work for too long, the quality of work that I’m producing goes way down as my brain slowly turns to mush, so a quick break is always beneficial.

3. Prioritise.

Like I said before, I am so easily distracted and I also hate to feel like I’m missing out on anything. But during exam season I force myself to prioritise and put my work first. After all, in less than two months second year will be over (which is scary as hell) and I’ll have so much free time to catch up with family and friends.

That, paired with the results that all this hard work will hopefully lead to, will definitely make the hard work worth it (try saying that ten times fast).

4. Reward yourself.

After a long day of solid revision, I like to treat myself a little.

I don’t mean a huge shopping spree (I wish) or anything as extreme as that, but little things like a relaxing bubble bath, a trip to a cafe, or watching your favourite movie, can be great rewards and a way to unwind after using your brain all day!

5. Keep calm.

It is so, so easy to let impending exams and deadlines get on top of you and make you want to cry (I’ve been there, so many times), and this last tip is definitely much easier said than done. But something I always try to remind myself is that the calmer I am, the more level-headed I am, and the better work I produce.

So if you’re having a day where the stress is getting a bit too much, stop. Chill out, then go back to your work when you feel better about it.